It's the law at 'dark' traffic signals: Everybody stops

With a surprising number of traffic signals in the Lehigh Valley remaining without power after Monday's unwanted visit from Hurricane Sandy -- including 'dark' signals at some major multi-lane intersections -- PennDOT officials remind motorists that EVERYONE is required to stop at non-functioning traffic lights.

The state Vehicles Law is clear: It's to be treated as a four-way stop-sign intersection. Even if you're traveling on the main road -- Seventh Street in Allentown, for example -- you must stop at Allen Street or other smaller roads if the signal is without power.

Traffic approaching "[a] completely unlighted signal shall stop in the same manner as at a stop sign," with the right-of-way and yield regulations in force.

In addition, the legislature recently torqued up the penalty for ignoring "road closed" or similar signs, PennDOT spokesman Ron Young reminds us. The fine for going around such signage runs as high as $500, and you could be ordered to reimburse emergency-response costs necessitated by the violation. Violators could end up paying many thousands of dollars for being too impatient to find an alternate route.

To my experience, motorists have been pretty good about stopping, at least so far, and a lot of courtesy has been displayed regarding yielding to other drivers. I've heard people agree with that assessment, but others have reported some serious cases of ignorance of the rules, or just bad manners, as well. So there's been some traffic on both sides of this road.

Below is the text of Young's news release on these matters. Be careful out there, fellow warriors. I hope everyone gets their power restored as soon as possible -- including the Warrior's home, by the way. We're still out of service, hoping for the best while trying to prepare ourselves for what might be a long drive. Contrary to some of the ugly stuff I've seen on the internet about PPL crews, I think they're working as hard as they can in very trying circumstances -- "unprecedended" circmstances, as our headline blared today, describing the storm and its difficult consequences.

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Oct. 30, 2012

PennDOT Reminds Motorists to Follow Two Important Traffic Laws in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

One recently enacted law requires compliance with road closure signs

Allentown – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is reminding motorists to follow two important traffic laws in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The first reminder is to treat any intersection with an inoperable traffic signal as a stop-controlled intersection.

According to state law, if a motorist approaches a signalized intersection with a traffic-control signal that is out of operation or is not functioning properly, vehicular traffic facing a green or yellow signal may proceed with caution, and vehicular traffic facing a red or completely unlighted signal shall stop in the same manner as at a stop sign, and the right to proceed shall be subject to the rules applicable after making a stop at a stop sign (in general, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield to the vehicle on the right).

Second, last month a new state law went into effect that imposes stiff penalties on motorists who ignore “road closed” or other safety warning signs and devices. Under the law, motorists who drive around or through signs or traffic control devices closing a road or highway due to hazardous conditions will have two points added to their driving records and be fined up to $250. If the violation results in a need for emergency responders to be called, the fine is increased to between $250 and $500. In addition, violators will be held liable for repaying the costs of staging the emergency response.

Motorists can check road conditions on more than 2,900 miles of state roads by calling 511 or visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, average traffic speeds on urban interstates and access to more than 670 traffic cameras. Regional Twitter alerts are also available on the 511PA website.

Current Comments

Sadly, I saw many people not knowing the first item when I was driving around Whitehall on Tuesday... Even got a few frustrated honks from people when I stopped at the few dark lights along MacArthur Road and saw several "close ones"...

My other observation on Tuesday was, Dunkin Donuts was making a killing... the three of the four MacArthur Road (the one in the Valero was closed with no power) were all packed with cars overflowing their lots...

Posted By: Tim | Oct 31, 2012 12:21:56 PM

Too bad many municipalities or was it PennDOT put up stop signs to create 2-way stops at many intersections, and were very inconsistent in doing so, making it very difficult to know what to do at each intersection.

Posted By: me | Nov 1, 2012 5:03:16 PM

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about this blog

Morning Call Reporter and Columnist Dan Hartzell is The Road Warrior, defending the drivers of the Lehigh Valley and the roads on which they drive. E-mail questions about transportation in the Lehigh Valley and beyond to hartzell@mcall.com.